Glory for Messi, Germany protest and Dave the cat – Qatar World Cup in pictures

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By PA Sport Staff

The 2022 World Cup was a tournament full of thrills, spills, controversy and contention that ended with Lionel Messi’s Argentina lifting the famous trophy on Sunday.

Here, the PA news agency tells the story of the Qatar tournament in pictures.

Qatar v Ecuador – FIFA World Cup 2022 – Group A – Al Bayt Stadium
The opening ceremony of the 2022 World Cup took place at the Al Bayt Stadium (Mike Egerton/PA) Photo by Mike Egerton
FIFA World Cup 2022 – Previews – Saturday 19th November
Empty Budweiser fridges outside the Khalifa International Stadium after it was announced on the eve of the tournament that the sale of alcohol to fans at grounds had been banned (Adam Davy/PA) Photo by Adam Davy
England v Iran – FIFA World Cup 2022 – Group B – Khalifa International Stadium
There was further controversy when team captains, including England’s Harry Kane, were told by FIFA they could not wear the ‘OneLove’ armband in matches (Martin Rickett/PA) Photo by Martin Rickett
FIFA World Cup 2022
England were not permitted to wear the OneLove armband but support for the LGBTQ+ community was on show at Wembley Stadium (Yui Mok/PA) Photo by Yui Mok
Germany v Japan – FIFA World Cup 2022 – Group E – Khalifa International Stadium
Germany’s players, meanwhile, made their own protest by covering their mouths as they posed for a team photo ahead of their first match with Japan (Mike Egerton/PA) Photo by Mike Egerton
England Community Engagement – Al Wakrah Sports Club Stadium
The treatment of migrant workers in Qatar was also a big issue. Here, players from the Workers’ Welfare ‘Team 360’ were given signed England shirts and tickets to their opening match against Iran (Martin Rickett/PA) Photo by Martin Rickett
Gianni Infantino
Gianni Infantino took aim at European critics of Qatar on the eve of the tournament in an extraordinary hour-long monologue (Nick Potts/PA) Photo by Nick Potts
England v Iran – FIFA World Cup 2022 – Group B – Khalifa International Stadium
England kicked off their bid in impressive fashion with a 6-2 mauling of Iran (Martin Rickett/PA) Photo by Martin Rickett
Argentina v Croatia – FIFA World Cup 2022 – Semi Final – Lusail Stadium
Argentina fans turned out in force in Qatar as they hoped to see Lionel Messi follow in Diego Maradona’s footsteps and lift the World Cup (Mike Egerton/PA) Photo by Mike Egerton
Argentina v Saudi Arabia – FIFA World Cup 2022 – Group C – Lusail Stadium
But the eventual champions suffered a huge early shock when Saudi Arabia beat them courtesy of Salem Al-Dawsari’s winning goal (Adam Davy/PA) Photo by Adam Davy
Brazil v Serbia – FIFA World Cup 2022 – Group G – Lusail Stadium
Richarlison scored one of the goals of the tournament as Brazil beat Serbia in their first match (Peter Byrne/PA) Photo by Peter Byrne
France v Denmark – FIFA World Cup 2022 – Group D – Stadium 974
Kylian Mbappe, meanwhile, was quickly into his stride as he terrorised defences in Qatar (Nick Potts/PA) Photo by Nick Potts
Japan v Spain – FIFA World Cup 2022 – Group E – Khalifa International Stadium
Japan’s winning goal against Spain caused an intense debate as to whether the ball had gone out before Ao Tanaka (not in picture) scored, with four-time winners Germany knocked out as a result (Mike Egerton/PA) Photo by Mike Egerton
Wales v England – FIFA World Cup 2022 – Group B – Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium
Wales were roared on by the ‘Red Wall’ in their first World Cup since 1958 but Robert Page’s men fell at the group stage (Nick Potts/PA) Photo by Nick Potts
England v Senegal – FIFA World Cup 2022 – Round of 16 – Al Bayt Stadium
Senegal fans also made themselves known as their team progressed to the last 16 (Mike Egerton/PA) Photo by Mike Egerton
Portugal v Ghana – FIFA World Cup 2022 – Group H – Stadium 974
Cristiano Ronaldo started well as he became the first man to score in five separate World Cups with his goal against Ghana (Martin Rickett/PA) Photo by Martin Rickett
Portugal v Switzerland – FIFA World Cup 2022 – Round of 16 – Lusail Stadium
But he ended up having to settle for a role on Portugal’s bench (Martin Rickett/PA) Photo by Martin Rickett
Portugal v Switzerland – FIFA World Cup 2022 – Round of 16 – Lusail Stadium
With the eyes of the world watching his every move again (Mike Egerton/PA) Photo by Mike Egerton
Neymar
Neymar’s World Cup did not go as he would have hoped either (Nick Potts/PA) Photo by Nick Potts
Croatia v Brazil – FIFA World Cup 2022 – Quarter Final – Education City Stadium
Brazil’s bid for a sixth World Cup success was ended in the quarter-finals by Croatia following a penalty shoot-out (Mike Egerton/PA) Photo by Nick Potts
Harry Kane
England also paid the penalty as Harry Kane’s miss against France saw them exit at the quarter-finals (Mike Egerton/PA) Photo by Mike Egerton
FIFA World Cup 2022 – Qatar – Sunday December 11th
But they did not return from Qatar empty handed, with Dave the cat adopted by England as their mascot and brought back to the UK with the squad (Martin Rickett/PA) Photo by Martin Rickett
Morocco v Spain – FIFA World Cup 2022 – Round of 16 – Education City Stadium
Morocco were the tournament’s surprise package as they became the first African team to reach a World Cup semi-final, beating Belgium, Spain and Portugal en route (Adam Davy/PA) Photo by Adam Davy
France v Morocco – FIFA World Cup 2022 – Semi Final – Al Bayt Stadium
But their brilliant run was finally ended by holders France (Martin Rickett/PA) Photo by Martin Rickett
France v Morocco – FIFA World Cup 2022 – Semi Final – Al Bayt Stadium
Theo Hernandez set Les Bleus on their way to a 2-0 win at the Al Bayt Stadium (Martin Rickett/PA) Photo by Martin Rickett
End of Year Review 2022
Argentina, meanwhile, were making progress, if not necessarily any new friends in the Netherlands (Peter Byrne/PA) Photo by Peter Byrne
Netherlands v Argentina – FIFA World Cup 2022 – Quarter Final – Lusail Stadium
There were 18 yellow cards and one red shown during a fiery and incident-packed quarter-final at the Lusail Stadium (Martin Rickett/PA) Photo by Adam Davy
Netherlands v Argentina – FIFA World Cup 2022 – Quarter Final – Lusail Stadium
Argentina eventually won the clash on penalties (Martin Rickett/PA) Photo by Adam Davy
Croatia won the third place play-off
Croatia won the third place play-off against Morocco (Adam Davy/PA) Photo by Adam Davy
France took on Argentina in the final
Before France and Argentina met in the final (Adam Davy/PA) Photo by Adam Davy
With Kylian Mbappe, left, and Messi taking centre stage
With Kylian Mbappe, left, and Messi taking centre stage (Nick Potts/PA) Photo by Nick Potts
Lionel Messi put Argentina ahead from the spot
Messi put Argentina ahead from the spot (Martin Rickett/PA) Photo by Martin Rickett
Lionel Messi put Argentina ahead from the spot
And he enjoyed the celebrations (Adam Davy/PA) Photo by Adam Davy
Angel Di Maria then scored a brilliant second
Angel Di Maria then scored a brilliant second (Martin Rickett/PA) Photo by Martin Rickett
Olivier Giroud was not happy about being taken off in the first half as France made a double change
Olivier Giroud was not happy about being taken off in the first half as France made a double change (Martin Rickett/PA) Photo by Martin Rickett
But Kylian Mbappe pulled one back for France from the spot
Mbappe pulled one back for France from the spot in the second half (Adam Davy/PA) Photo by Adam Davy
Before getting his second to draw France level
Before getting a quickfire second to draw France level and take the game to extra time (Adam Davy/PA) Photo by Adam Davy
Mbappe accepted the adulation from France's fans
Mbappe accepted the adulation from France’s fans (Martin Rickett/PA) Photo by Martin Rickett
Messi looked to have won it for Argentina in extra time
Messi looked to have won it for Argentina with his goal in extra time (Mike Egerton/PA) Photo by Mike Egerton
Only for Mbappe to equalise from the penalty spot, earning him a hat-trick and taking the contest to penalties
Only for Mbappe to equalise from the penalty spot, earning him a hat-trick and taking the contest to penalties (Adam Davy/PA) Photo by Adam Davy
But Argentina were the ones celebrating at the end as they won the shoot-out to claim World Cup glory
But Argentina were the ones celebrating at the end as they won the shoot-out to claim World Cup glory (Nick Potts/PA) Photo by Nick Potts
Messi and his team-mates celebrated with the fans
Messi and his team-mates celebrated with the fans (Mike Egerton/PA) Photo by Mike Egerton
Messi kissed the World Cup trophy
Messi finally got his hands on the World Cup trophy (Nick Potts/PA) Photo by Nick Potts
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